- Brady Tkachuk sat out the third period of Tuesday’s preseason game in Carolina
- Paul Maurice called it minor and precautionary, and Florida listed Tkachuk as day-to-day on Wednesday
- Read below for what it means for the Panthers ahead of next Tuesday’s opener
Brady Tkachuk is day-to-day, and the Panthers still expect him in the lineup for next Tuesday’s season opener.
Tkachuk missed the final 20 minutes of Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout loss in Raleigh. Paul Maurice was asked about it afterward and waved the whole thing off.
“Minor. Just precautionary. He may well be on the ice tomorrow. We’ll see, but it’s not an injury. Just tightened up on him. It’s an exhibition.”
Catch Maurice’s full postgame from Raleigh:
Florida made it official Wednesday, listing Tkachuk as day-to-day with an undisclosed issue. He should be fine for the opener in Carolina.
He was done with exhibition hockey either way. New NHL rules cap veterans at two preseason games, so Tkachuk was never playing in the two remaining tune-ups against Tampa Bay.
Before he left, Tkachuk had opened the scoring 4:31 into the first period, one-timing a Sam Reinhart feed for his third goal in three nights. That gave him three goals and five points in two games with his new team.
Sunday was the loud one. Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Charles-Alexis Legault after sticking up for Aleksander Barkov, then finished off a Gordie Howe hat trick with an empty-netter in a 6-3 win.
Take a look at the scrap with Legault:
The Panthers traded for the former Senators captain this summer to line him up next to his brother Matthew. The 27-year-old has cleared 50 points in each of the last five seasons, including 59 in an injury-shortened 2025-26, and he carries an $8.2 million cap hit through 2027-28.
Puck drops Sept. 29 at Lenovo Center, where Carolina raises its Stanley Cup banner before the game.
